In this blog, I reflect on Bible Trivia questions. The questions come from Bible Bafflers. The game’s cards are divided into five categories and I review one card for each day of the traditional workweek. The topics are: People (Monday), Other Bafflers (Tuesday), New Testament (Wednesday), Old Testament (Thursday), Geography/History (Friday).

Monday, September 19, 2011

Ichabod: Named in Despair (I Samuel 4:21)

Who named her child Ichabod? Phinehas’ wife (Personally, I would have also accepted Mrs. Crane.)

The name Ichabod resulted from a tragic chain of events that began on a battlefield pitting the Israelites against the Philistines. 30,000 Israelites, including the high priest of forty years, Eli, and his sons, Phinehas and Hophni were lost (I Samuel 4:10-11). Even more damningly, the Ark of the Covenant fell into enemy hands (I Samuel 4:11). The shock from so much loss induced premature labor in Phinehas’ unnamed pregnant wife (I Samuel 4:19). This resulted in her death but not before she gave birth to a son (I Samuel 4:20-22). The Bible allows the reader into the privacy of the birth chamber as she bestows her son with the memorable name, “Ichabod” (I Samuel 4:21).

And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “ The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.” (I Samuel 4:21-22 NASB)

The name was no less peculiar to the original Hebrew audience than to contemporary readers. No one else in the Bible bears the ignominious name. Ichabod means “no glory” or “inglorious”. P. Kyle McCarter, Jr. (b. 1945) has argued that the name means “Where is (the) glory?” or “Alas (for the) glory!” (McCarter, I Samuel: The Anchor Bible, Vol. 8, 116). Ichabod certainly had an inglorious beginning as in his first day of life, he lost his parents, grandfather, and even the Ark of the Covenant, the representation of the glory of God.

Though many give their children Biblical names, few ever christen their child Ichabod. As there is a certain poetry to his birth narrative, the name Ichabod did find its way into significant 19th century literature. T.H. Huxley (1825-1890, “A Liberal Education”) and Anthony Trolloppe (1815-1882, Barchester Towers, p. 452) used the name as an exclamation and Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) referenced Ichabod in her novel, Villete (p. 284). The poem “Ichabod” by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) expressing the author’s lament over abolitionist Daniel Webster (1782-1852)’s support of the Missouri compromise, is a staple of American Literature. Ironically, the name’s most famous use, in Washington Irving (1783-1859)’s short story The Legend of Sleep Hollow, does not draw upon the Biblical text but rather an acquaintance of Irving, U.S. army captain Ichabod Bennet Crane (1787-1857).

Does your name have meaning? What is the worst name you have ever heard? If you have children, why did you name your kids as you did? Where is the glory? Have you ever felt such utter despair as did Phinehas’ wife?

Phinehas’ wife understood profoundly the consequences of her situation. There is a double saying at the end of her story as Phinehas’s wife says not once, but twice that “the glory has departed from Israel” (I Samuel 4:21-22 NASB). Despite her great personal loss, Phinehas’ wife emphasized that the real tragedy her child’s name commemorated was the big picture - the lost Ark. There could be no greater tragedy than the departing of God’s presence.

Even the joy of a child did not ease her despair. She thought her son had no future. Like many modern couples, she doubted that she wanted to bring a child into the world in the state it was in, especially into a nation that was seemingly powerless.

In naming Ichabod, he was marked for life, a walking reminder of a catastrophic day. A woman naming her son after dreadful circumstances is not unique in the Old Testament. As Rachel died during childbirth, she attempted to name her son, Ben-oni (“son of my sorrow”) but the child’s father, Jacob, overruled her and renamed the son as he is remembered - Benjamin (Genesis 35:18). Jabez, whom Bruce Wilkinson (b. 1947) immortalized in his book The Prayer of Jabez, was named “sorrow” by his mother “because I bore him with pain” (I Chronicles 4:9-10). The miserable circumstances of Ichabod’s birth were more widespread than these other cases as everything in Israel had seemingly crumbled. Ichabod would forever be tied to the past with a name synonymous with shame.

We know little of Ichahod’s life or whether his name was a detriment to him. No action of Ichabod is recorded in Scripture and his name appears only twice (I Samuel 4:21, 14:3). It has been suggested that he gained prominence as Ahitud is later described as being Ichabod’s brother (I Samuel 14:3). Recognizing someone by a sibling (as opposed to a parent) is rare. What is clear is that Ichabod lived.

Phinehas’ wife saw her situation as hopeless. Life as she knew it was indeed over. But life was not over. Though his family died, Ichabod lived. Ichabod is a picture of life out of death. His name should be a reminder that what we see as hopeless is never so, as long as we have a God who can bring forth life from death.

Have you ever felt that God departed from you? What reminds you of bad times? What thoughts get you through those bad times? How do you avoid despair?

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.” - Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

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In this blog, I reflect on Bible Trivia questions. The questions come from Bible Bafflers. The game’s cards are divided into five categories and I review one card for each day of the traditional workweek. The topics are: People (Monday), Other Bafflers (Tuesday), New Testament (Wednesday), Old Testament (Thursday), Geography/History (Friday).

I will reflect on the question that either piques my interest or the card that I know the least about. The intent is to produce 3-5 posts each week.

The goals of this blog are to (1) Engage in dialogue about the Bible with anyone who has interest; (2) Provide my congregation with a resource for Bible study throughout the week (and not just on Sunday); (3). Provide my friends with a daily devotional; and (4) Give myself an outlet for thought and accountability.

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■I am the senior pastor of Rutledge Baptist Church in Rutledge, Tennessee. (The name is not just a clever marketing ploy.) It is located in Grainger County a.k.a. Tomato Country.

■I am a Baptist who has lived his entire life in the south but am not in any way affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

■In my time in Grainger County, to support members, I have gone to chicken judging contests, taken ballroom dancing lessons, had rotten tomatoes thrown at me, and arm wrestled an eight year old member in the sanctuary. I lost.

■I attempt to always motivate myself and my congregation through love and never via fear.

■I am often told that I seem too young to be a senior pastor though I am uncertain if that is based upon my youthful appearance and exuberance or any striking immaturity I may exhibit.

■I have adopted a principle based system of ethics. As a rule, I loathe deontological ethics.

■I am single and may serve the only church in history with a Pastor’s Wife Search Committee.

■I am known for being transparent, often to a fault. I have one and only one secret and those close to me know it as well.

■I serve on the boards of Appalachian Outreach, the Community Benevolence Committee, Leadership Grainger, and the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. I volunteer at the Samaritan House.

■I have coached teeball the last two years. My undertaking to name my glorious franchise “The Bible Beaters” was rejected.

■I value education.

■I graduated from the McAfee School of Theology (a subsidiary of Mercer University in the ATL). I was Peter Rhea Jones’ assistant and learned at the feet of John Claypool. Had I gained nothing form my seminary experience but the time with Claypool, the three years would have been worth it.

■I am soon to complete a second master’s in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Adult Learning from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

■I learn best in dialogue.

■I am an only child. I have never even owned a pet. My parents offered a dog when I was child with the provision that I be responsible for its care. After estimating the workload, I respectfully declined the offer.

■I lived the first six years of my life in Newport, Tennessee, and the remainder of my upbringing was done in Knoxville. West High School, Class of 1996.

■First Baptist Church of Newport and the Central Baptist Church of Bearden served as my home churches. Every pastor I ever had possessed a doctorate (Stan Rushing, Bill Bruster, Larry Fields).

■I talk very fast.

■I collect books and movies. Between a former job at Movies 4 Sale and living a great deal of my life near McKay’s Used Books and CDs, I own more books and DVDs than anyone you know.

■Peyton Manning is my favorite athlete. Unless I am in need of someone to impregnate unwed super models, I would choose Manning over Tom Brady every time.

■I like to play team trivia at restaurants with my team, Tiger Blood. Yes, we named our team after a Charlie Sheen expression. We even bought t-shirts from him. Did I mention I am a nerd?